The 2.0 thing is not officially out of control. Web 2.0 Women 2.0 Business 2.0 Identity 2.0

Now we have Call Center 2.0

However at least they are calling it that, with an apparent understanding of what 2.0 should mean, so I have to credit them for that.

The Dawn of Call Center 2.0 – –

Call Center 2.0 is not about technology only; it's about state-of-the-art customer relations and determining the best way to put the customer first. It amounts to mass customization of customer contact — the ability to make every customer feel special.

Nothing new in the concept, but certainly its new in that call centres do not do that well today. For Banks, we should be in the best position of all to handle this well, because the "mass customisation" referred to would work only if the Bank has adequate information in advance, and can distill that down to the appropriate business rules, and information, such that the customer is delighted whenever they call.

Most people nowadays only call because something has not gone right. This could be because something is not available online, or is not provided online in a satisfactory way. It is often a problem … a mortgage application is underway, and customer wants to know status, can't reach the branch and "ends up" ("joe customer" vernacular) in the call centre. At least the call centre should know there is a mortgage application underway, and should know that an event, eg appraiser visit, was scheduled on X day, and this is X+3 days, yet no appraised value is in the computer, therefore thats likely why the customer is calling. Now that would be delightful service, and very 2.0.

The article goes on to explain that call centres have not grown.

The modern call center industry is about 25 years old, yet it remains on the forefront of customer interactions. Paradoxically, for many years, call centers have not been on the leading edge of technology or foremost in the minds of corporate management.

Yet technology investments have been rampant in the field.

Over the years, call centers have embraced technology when automating their inbound and outbound calling functions using ACDs, skills-based routing and auto, predictive and preview dialers

The article then makes the right leap beyond technology.

Call Center 2.0 is not about technology only, it's about state-of-the-art customer relations and determining the best way to put the customer first. It amounts to mass customization of customer contact — the ability to make every customer feel special — to project that your company is focused exclusively on every customer's needs on a personalized basis.

In addition, this new way of thinking about the call center will help it evolve into the next-generation entity called the contact center, and will help us realize that our customers are really groups of communities that can benefit from interacting with one another.

It starts off this part with typical technology stuff, but …..

Video kiosks will be an integral part of Call Center 2.0, allowing companies to put a virtual video call center anywhere they like. Sony can put such a kiosk in the stores of an electronics retailer, and Weight Watchers can put them in supermarkets. Some ATMs will become video-enabled, allowing bank tellers in call centers to answer questions for customers around-the-clock.Call Center 2.0 will be speech-enabled, allowing customers to do their business via automation if they choose. They can seamlessly transfer to a live agent in the middle of the transaction, if needed, and then revert back to automation once again.

… then it gets interesting, with my favourite topic, proposing that the entire organisation becomes a call centre. The business rules, and the flexibility of VoIP will permit this, without losing the obviosu cost benefits of a centralised call centre for the mass calls.

Call Center 2.0 will use SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) endpoints, allowing more flexibility and interoperability. In addition, there will be enhanced presence use to determine when the best agents are available in an organization. Essentially, SIP will allow all workers in a company to become call center agents.

Relevance to Bankwatch:
Banks have to achieve scale, and minimise costs. They also have to excel at customer service, across millions of customer contacts daily, and internet will not soon replace that periodic need to just talk to someone. With the advent of self service far out weighing personal service contacts, more and more personal contact will be because of a problem, and the banks that can address those contacts well, will be the winners.

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